1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to patient lifting devices and, more particularly, to a patient lifting device that assists a patient into and out of a bed or other patient supporting device by supporting the lower extremities of the patient. The device is configured to be positioned next to a bed and assist the patient into the bed by lifting the lower extremities to a horizontal position so that the patient can maneuver his or her legs onto the bed along a horizontal surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many patients and persons have difficulty lifting their legs onto a bed or other support surface such as a treatment table in a doctor""s office, care facility or hospital room from a bedside position without assistance. For example, those whose leg muscles have been weakened due to advanced age or who have lost the complete or partial use of their legs due to paralysis, illness or injury often require some assistance to get into bed. In addition, other injuries of the back, hip or surgery involving the back or hip can result in limited mobility of the legs and the inability of the patient to lift their legs into bed.
In most cases, individuals suffering from the foregoing ailments require the presence of another individual in order to be able to get into bed or onto a treatment table without further injuring themselves, either by falling or by straining muscles, ligaments and the like. In cases involving surgery, such lifting of the legs without assistance is extremely painful. For those individuals who find that they cannot get themselves into bed without assistance and are not being cared for at a care facility where medical staff is readily available, such individuals often must pay for special assistance or rely on family and friends. Where the individual is at home, for example, around the clock support is required to help the individual back into bed each time the individual returns to bed.
Various lifting devices are provided in the art that are provided to assist a patient onto a bed or lift them relative to the bed once they are already positioned on the bed. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/796,368 published on Jul. 19, 2001, provides a cantilevered mobile bed/chair apparatus for safely transferring a patient from and to a hospital type bed comprising three hinged together segments forming back, seat and foot platforms operating in conjunction with a four wheeled rectangular base. The device, however, is a complex apparatus that requires separately articulating surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,523 issued Feb. 22, 2000, provides a portable lifting apparatus for lifting and transferring of patients for use in combination with a sling or the like support. Separate motors are required for control of up and down movement of the lifting arm, clockwise and counter clockwise rotation of the column, extension and retraction of each of the legs individually and divergence and convergence of both legs simultaneously. Such a device, however, is configured to lift the entire person and is a complex arrangement of components.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,630 issued on Nov. 4, 1997 is a boom-like apparatus for lifting and transferring of patients for use in combination with a sling or the like support. Again, such a device is a complex configuration for lifting the entire body of a patient and not well suited for easy bedside use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,498 issued on Jun. 28, 1994, discloses a collapsible bedridden patient handling aid essentially consisting of a lifting device comprising a frame mounted on two pairs of wheels combined with retractable legs and supporting a platform designed to be inserted between the patient and the bed to raise the patient and put him or her back down, the platform consisting of moveable flat strips mounted individually on a support which is pivotable about a horizontal axis. Thus, the device is configured to lift the entire patient above the bed, as may be desired to change the bedding or transfer the patient to another bed, but is not configured to assist the patient into the bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,793 issued on Jul. 23, 1991, provides an extendable elevating leg rest for a wheelchair, but such a device is not configured for use with a conventional bed. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,960 issued on Jan. 17, 1989 discloses a wheelchair/bed arrangement requiring a complex wheelchair configuration and associated modification of the bed for proper operation.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a self-contained patient assist device for use with a conventional bed that does not require modification of the bed and that is configured for lifting of the lower extremities of a patient to a level that is sufficient for the user to then be able to maneuver their legs into the bed while sitting, leaning, or as they begin assuming a laying position on the bed.
These and other advantages will become apparent from a reading of the following summary of the invention and description of the illustrated embodiments in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
Accordingly, a bedside lower extremity lifting apparatus is comprised of a support frame coupled to a platform. The support platform can be selectively raised and lowered by an actuator assembly coupled between the support frame and the platform. That is, the platform can be raised and lowered in a hinge-type fashion or by raising and lowering a platform that stays in a relatively horizontal position throughout. The lifting apparatus is configured to be positioned adjacent a conventional mattress-type bed and can be properly used and operated in conjunction with the bed without modification to the bed.
When the platform is in its lowered position, the platform and support frame have a relatively low profile so as to allow a user to sit on the edge of the bed with the platform comfortably positioned between the user""s legs and the bed mattress. A user control is provided to allow the user to selectively raise and lower the platform as desired. By sitting on the edge of the bed and raising the platform to a horizontal position, the user is able to raise his or her legs to a corresponding horizontal position. Once the user""s legs reach a horizontal position or a sufficient height, depending on user comfort or ability, the user is then able to more easily maneuver their legs onto the bed.
The height of the pivot point of the platform is configured to be slightly below the height of the mattress. In that way, the user can comfortably sit on the edge of the bed with the platform in its lowered position with the weight of their body compressing the mattress and the upper edge of the platform will be at approximately the height of the compressed mattress. The height of the frame can be configured to be adjustable to allow the platform to be adjusted to the proper height for a given mattress. Likewise, the frame could be provided in several different sizes so as to allow the selection of a particular frame size depending upon the height of a given mattress.
The platform has a height when it is in a horizontal position that is substantially the height of the bed, allowing for clearance above the floor or base of the apparatus as well as height adjustability of the apparatus for use with various bed mattress heights. The width of the platform is configured to be sufficiently wide so as to allow the user to maneuver their legs about the upper surface of the platform while being substantially fully supported by the platform. The platform is provided with a padded surface to increase user comforted but may also comprise an unpadded surface formed from a sheet of smooth plastic, wood other material. In either case, the surface of the platform should have a relatively slick surface to facilitate the user in sliding their legs from the platform to the bed.
In one embodiment, a hydraulic or gear driven, selectively extendable and retractable ram is coupled between the support frame and the platform to selectively raise and lower the platform.
In another embodiment, a hydraulic or gear driven, selectively extendable and retractable ram is horizontally mounted to the frame and positioned under the bed. A ram extension lever is then coupled between the ram and the support platform such that extension or retraction of the ram correspondingly raises and lowers the leg lifting platform.
In another embodiment, the platform is raised and lowered by a selectively extendable and retractable ram that is coupled to a track guided push lever and ram extension lever. In addition, the platform is coupled to the frame with a sliding tube to raise the height of the platform as the platform is raised. This allows the platform to be positioned below the height of the mattress when the platform is in its lowered position and to raise to be level with the mattress as more of the weight of the user is carried by the platform causing a corresponding rise in the height of the mattress.
In another embodiment, the platform is raised and lowered by a rack and pinion gear arrangement that is linked by an extension lever to the platform to selectively raise and lower the platform. In addition, retractable support legs may be coupled to the rack and pinion assembly to cause support legs to extend beneath the platform as the platform rises.
In still another embodiment, the platform is raised while maintaining a generally horizontal orientation throughout. The platform is raised by a scissor-type frame assembly that raises the entire platform from a lower position to an elevated position.
In yet another embodiment, the platform is raised in a generally horizontal orientation by a cable-type, chain-type or ram-type system. The platform is maintained in a cantilevered arrangement throughout the lift.
Other embodiments employ chain and sprocket arrangements or cable assemblies for raising and lowering the platform as well as forward and/or rear support legs to allow the leg lifting apparatus to be self-supporting without attachment to the frame of the bed, floor or wall.
An adjustable and/or removable hand rail attached to the frame of the leg lifting apparatus may be provided with any of the foregoing embodiments. The hand rail provides the user with a structure upon which a force can be applied to assist the user in maneuvering their legs from the platform to the bed.